Consulting Experience

Jerod Byrd, one of HVS’ premier experts on hotel markets in the northeast, New England, and Mid-Atlantic regions, is Managing Director and Senior Partner for HVS Philadelphia. Jerod has been instrumental in several hundred hotel consulting and appraisal assignments at HVS, including market studies, feasibility studies, and valuations of existing and proposed hotels and portfolios. He leads a team of hotel professionals whose collective experience spans virtually every major market and submarket in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and surrounding states—a framework of hotel industry expertise that supports the rapid turnaround of thorough, authoritative reports about regional hotels.

Jerod has leveraged his research into hotel performance, demand generation, and economic trends to pen insightful articles on hotel markets in Wilmington, Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He has been a featured speaker at the University of Delaware’s hospitality program and hosted the 2012 HVS Regional Hotel Valuation Summit in Philadelphia. Jerod earned dual BBA degrees in Hospitality & Resort Management and Real Estate from The University of Memphis and is a state-certified appraiser in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Outside of work, Jerod treasures time with his wife and three children. Jerod also enjoys dirt bike riding, which he frequents trips to the mountains of West Virginia and Central Pennsylvania.

My Articles

Occupancy in Greater Philadelphia rose above 67% in 2014, and average rates continue to gain ground. The arrival of new supply in Center City next year is expected to have a minimal impact on occupancy, and rate growth should endure in the near term.

As economic recovery resumes and tourism strengthens, Washington, D.C. remains a top draw for leisure, convention, and government demand, with area hotels achieving some of the highest RevPAR levels in the nation.

Unemployment in Philadelphia remains high, though the city’s broad economic base continues to slowly recover. RevPAR levels for Philadelphia hotels are expected to strengthen in the near term, with demand outpacing recent supply additions.

The recent recession cut into Wilmington’s hotel market as demand from financial institutions and other firms weakened; however, new projects, rising room rates, and a strengthening economy in the city and MSA are putting RevPAR on the mend.

Downsizing, travel freezes, and facility closings have made the climate bleak for hotels in northern Delaware, but a slowdown in the introduction of new supply should help shore up penetration levels when business activity and demand growth resume.